Not Applicable.
In the racing of motor vehicles, in particular, go-carts, midget racers, stock cars and other racing vehicles, it is necessary to frequently adjust the front wheel alignment relative to the rear wheels of the vehicle. In present practice with go-cart racing, this is done by raising and supporting the vehicle, removing the wheels on one side of the vehicle, and temporarily mounting a transverse bar to each of the wheel hubs of the front and rear axles. The steering is centered and locked in place and the steering tie rods may then be adjusted to vary toe-in or toe-out of the front wheels as desired by visually aligning the bars mounted to the wheel hubs. Once one side""s alignment is set, the process is repeated on the opposing side of the vehicle.
Because adjustments of toe-in are preferably made at the track, with the vehicle body in place on the vehicle frame, it becomes very difficult to accurately align the bars mounted to the wheel hubs because body molding interferes with the visual measurements. Additionally, two persons are needed to perform the alignment task, with one making measurements at each wheel hub. In addition, the procedure can only be performed with the vehicle frame suspended and the wheels removed. This method to adjust an important performance characteristic of a vehicle, especially a racing vehicle, is quite cumbersome and labor intensive.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method to accurately adjust front wheel alignment of a motor vehicle, especially a small racing vehicle such as a go-cart. The apparatus of the present invention may be operated by one person and it allows the alignment adjustments to be performed either with the vehicle resting on its tires or suspended with its wheels removed. Because the apparatus is fully portable and lightweight, adjustments to toe-in may be performed immediately before a race as well as during a race if conditions warrant further toe-in adjustment.
The invention includes a mirror which is selectively mountable to the front wheel spindle of the motor vehicle with the mirror reflective face parallel to the axis of the spindle. The mirror is provided with mounting hardware which allows its mounting to the spindle either with the wheel removed or by use of an extender such that the mirror may be attached to the spindle without removal of the front wheel. A small, lightweight laser, preferably battery powered, is selectively mountable to the rear axle by mounting hardware which causes the axis of the laser""s output beam to emanate at a perpendicular to the axis of the rear axle toward the mirror mounted to the front spindle. A linear scale is mounted to the rear axle, preferably by mounting it to the body of the laser or to the laser mounting hardware, the scale being stationed substantially in parallel to the axis of the rear axle and aligned generally with the output from the laser. The beam from the laser is directed toward the mirror such that the beam will be reflected onto the scale. By adjusting the steering tie rod while the laser beam is reflected onto the scale, a precise toe-in may be established. The laser and scale may be mounted to the rear axle either directly when the wheels of the motor vehicle are removed or by use of an axle extension member or other mounting hardware which may be employed to effectively lengthen use of the invention when the wheels remain on the vehicle. With this apparatus, the toe-in of the front wheels may be set accurately even when the driver is present in the vehicle. The adjustment can be made during a race in a short time by one worker without requiring the driver to exit the vehicle or without removal of the vehicle""s wheels.
The present invention is currently manufactured under the trademark xe2x80x9cACCUTOE PROxe2x80x9d by Horn Racing Products, L.L.C. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a portable front wheel alignment apparatus for a vehicle which provides increased toe-in adjustment accuracy.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a wheel alignment apparatus which may be utilized without removal of the wheels of a motor vehicle.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a toe-in adjustment apparatus for motor vehicles which may be employed with a wide variety of four-wheel motor vehicles which feature a front wheel toe-in adjustment which affects vehicle performance on the road or race track.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a fully portable, easily used, wheel alignment apparatus for racing go-carts which can be employed to accurately adjust front wheel alignment with the go-cart resting on its wheels.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method to accurately adjust front wheel toe-in on a vehicle resting on its wheels.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from examination of the description and claims which follow.